Missing Piece

Without you, my life is lost
I realized that when yours was the cost.
All the memories, I barely remember,
Now everything is as cold as December.
I never knew what it was like to live without you,
Now I have no clue on what to do.
There we were, side by side
And I knew I had no reason to hide.
But one day, I look up and you weren't there,
And I said, "Come back, I'll be a good sister, I swear!"
Days passed and you never returned
That day was the horrific day I learned,
That God had a plan all this time
But I never knew life would be such a climb.
I miss you so much you don't even know,
It's like growing up has become so slow.
Thinking upon all things you'll miss
If only I could give you one last kiss.
I miss you to death, my dearest brother,
To me; our family, there will never be another.
Once again, this is not goodbye
I now know, it was just your time to fly.
But one day, I'll see you again
And once more be as happy as we've ever been.
Till then, my sweetest brother, I love you so.
When we meet again, you'll see more than you'll ever know.

PUBLISH YOUR OWN BOOK OF POETRY

Editor’s Note

The number one question our editors receive is—what do the editors and judges look for when judging the contest? The number one answer we give is creativity. Unlike prose, writing composed in everyday language, poetry is considered a creative art and requires a different type of effort and a certain level of depth. Of the thousands of poems entered in each contest, the ones that catch our judges’ eyes are the ones that remove us, even just slightly, from the scope of everyday life by using language that is interesting, specific, vivid, obscure, compelling, figurative, and so on. Oftentimes, poems are pulled aside for a second look based simply on certain words that intrigued the reader. So first and foremost, be sure your poetry is written using creative language. Take general ideas and make them personal. In his infamous book De/Compositions: 101 Good Poems Gone Wrong, W. D. Snodgrass imparts, “We cannot honestly discuss or represent our lives, any more than our poems, without using ideational language.”